There's still time to submit your work for the 2016 Mashies

From live stunts to augmented reality and everything in between, 2016 has seen some of the marketing world’s most innovative work yet. In its fourth year, the Mashies, Mashable’s annual celebration of the agencies and brands that are creating the most innovative digital marketing campaigns, is bound to see some stiff competition.

There are only a few days left to submit your work to be considered for the Mashies. We’ve got our judging panel all lined up and ready to help us name the best of the best in all things digital marketing. Now all we need are your submissions.

Submit your work by 11:59 p.m. EST on Friday, June 17 for the chance to become a finalist or win. We’ve added new categories this year, which include best use of live streaming and best PR stunt.

You can find more information, including rules of entry here, or reach out to Melissa Shulman with any questions. For sponsorship opportunities, please email Marian Barrett.

Microsoft’s HoloLens sells out, goes commercial

Microsoft has declared HoloLens, its augmented reality headset, “open for business” with the launch of its commercial suite.

Aimed at enterprise, the suite has additional security and management features that won’t make it to the consumer model. These include:

• Kiosk mode – Allows businesses to set HoloLens to a specific app or run in “demo mode” for presentations or experiences. Useful for tourism and education.
• Mobile Device Management (MDM) – Microsoft provides InTune, a software program that lets businesses manage hundreds of HoloLens’ at the same time.
• Work access – Employees can take HoloLens home and connect to work applications, or a HoloLens enthusiast can bring their own device to work and connect to the business platform.
• Windows Store for Business – Provides businesses with the ability to tailor to the app store to the company’s apps or apps that are considered productive, like Word, Excel, or Photoshop.
• Windows Update for Business – Businesses tend to receive more frequent updates and the devices are supported for longer. Microsoft is sticking to that with the HoloLens.
• Azure Active Directory – Higher level security for business users.
• Bitlocker encryption – Encrypts the login for HoloLens, Microsoft also provides secure boot, an essential for security focused businesses.

That’s quite an impressive lineup of enterprise features, but we shouldn’t be surprised, considering Microsoft has already begun preliminary tests of HoloLens with government organizations like NASA.

Microsoft may also be attempting to pull businesses away from Google Glass, which has seen some success in the market, thanks in part to startups like APX Labs pushing new enterprise software to the device.

HoloLens far from finished

HoloLens is still in development, so the current version shipping to developers and enterprise customers is far from finished. That said, some businesses may want to get ahead of the curve by deploying AR early, or at least testing it to see the advantages.

Microsoft sells the developer edition for $3,000, but doesn’t say how much the enterprise version will cost. It does however mention that HoloLens can be purchased in bulk, a signal to large businesses that Microsoft is capable of large deployments.

How Brazil's top food delivery startup is meeting demand during Rio Olympics

In the heat of the Olympics, more people in Brazil are craving food delivery. 

iFood, the country's dominant food delivery startup, has experienced a 13 percent increase in the number of orders over the first two weeks of the Olympics. Orders spiked by 30 percent in Brazil during the four-hour broadcast of the Opening Ceremonies August 5. 

But the demand didn't come as a surprise for the startup. "We prepared for the potential increase in the number of orders," iFood CEO Felipe Fioravante told Mashable. "Brazilians like to watch the broadcasts at home, with friends, and good food, of course."

Founded in 2011, iFood has grown to be the largest food delivery service in Brazil. Earlier this year, it acquired competitor service Hellofood Brazil and secured $30 million in new venture capital funding. It fills more than 2 million orders per month, on average. 

An influx of visitors in Brazil has translated to new clientele. "Because our app has several pictures of menus and is easy to navigate, we realized foreign tourists also resorted to it," Fioravante said.  

IMAGE: IFOOD

The app has grown the total number of users by 5 percent since the Olympics began, up to 2 million monthly active users. An estimated 10,500 athletes and 500,000 tourists were expected to travel to Rio during the Olympics.

Fioravante had one big tech company to thank for his company's ability to meet the demand. He credited the app's integrations with Facebook as crucial to improving the delivery process. 

The mobile app offers Facebook log-in and the account kit system, Facebook's developer tool for app log-in via a phone number or email address, no password required. (iFood was launch partner for the tool at Facebook's developer conference this year). 

Those options are used by 80 percent of iFood's customers, the company said. 

IMAGE: IFOOD

For Brazil and iFood, in particular, the account kit system has helped improve deliveries since it provides the service with the most updated number to call for questions. 

"In Brazil, people usually have more than one number," said Dario Dal Piaz, Facebook's head of product partnerships for Brazil. "We had no idea that the account kit would be used to update phone numbers for delivery services. Sometimes we discover the gold when we least expect it."

Apple says Australian banks' demands would create security threat

Apple is not exactly thrilled by the Australian banking industry's attempts to undermine its rollout of Apple Pay.

In July, four major financial institutions applied to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to negotiate collectively with Apple regarding mobile payments.

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For the banks — Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, National Australia Bank, and Westpac — the fight centred on the fact that Apple does not allow outside banking apps to use iPhone hardware in favour of its own Apple Pay service.

"Apple's refusal to provide third-party apps with any access to the [near-field communication] functionality of its devices sets it apart from other hardware manufacturers," it said in the application. It's the NFC antenna that allows a smartphone to communicate with a payment terminal.

Now the technology company has hit back at what it calls the banks' "innuendo" and "misstatements," arguing their demands would create a security threat. Its submission, signed by the local head of Apple Pay, Marj Demmer, urges the ACCC to reject the banks' application.

Apple claims opening up its NFC functionality to the banks would be risky.

"Our hardware, software and services are built in a deeply integrated manner so we can provide the highest possible security," it writes. 

Apple Pay keeps payments secure using a system of tokenisation. Instead of sharing your credit card information during a transaction, the app instead creates a unique token as a stand-in, which it shares with the point of sale.

Users also submit a payment using their fingerprint via Apple's Touch ID system. The fingerprint and the device's unique account number are stored on the iPhone separate from Apple's operating system, Apple Pay servers and iCloud. 

Apple has been approached by Mashable for further details about the nature of the security threat.

Calling the banks a "cartel," the company also suggests granting the banks' application would produce anticompetitive results for the Australian consumer.

As Apple notes, the banks in the application together account for 66 percent of Australian credit card balances and 70 percent of household deposits. 

"The request by the application banks would slow innovation and reduce choices by protecting members of the cartel from competition with each other," it says.

"Allowing the banks to form a cartel to collectively dictate terms to new business models and services would set a troubling precedent and delay the introduction of new, potentially disruptive technologies."

In the submission, Apple shares that negotiations began with Australian banks in late 2014. The contactless payments service launched in November with only American Express on board, followed by its only major banking partner, ANZ, in April.

Although the banks are not attempting to negotiate collectively over banking fees, it's been reported the banks also clashed with Apple regarding how banking fees would be shared.

Ex-Facebook CTO sells word processor Quip for $582 million to Salesforce

A young word processing app just found a new home — for a pretty hefty price tag. 

Salesforce, the cloud software giant, has acquired Quip for $582 million, according to the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission Monday. 

Founded in 2012, Quip began as a mobile-oriented word processor and collaboration tool that competed with the likes of Microsoft Office and Google Docs. Quip works on PCs, yet the company said in blog post that it "shines on phones and tablets." Collaboration was also easier to visualize through a highlighted feed of updates.

The mobile focus is not surprising given the founder's history. Quip CEO Bret Taylor was the co-creator of Google Maps, founder of social network FriendFeed (which was acquired by Facebook in 2009) and later the chief technology officer of Facebook during its aggressive push to mobile.

Taylor also joined Twitter's board last month. 

Quip announced the news in a blog post, saying Salesforce's strategy aligned with its own. 

Salesforce and Quip share the same philosophy about software: it should be in the cloud, built for the mobile era, and be inherently social. Salesforce pioneered the shift to enterprise cloud computing—and Quip has been working since 2012 to reimagine a productivity platform for teams that allows them to be more connected, more collaborative and get more work done.

Quip has not recently released user numbers. It offers a free version and premium versions for small companies at $12 per user per month and larger enterprises at $25 per user per month. 

Salesforce's move to purchase Quip comes after a reported failed attempt to purchase LinkedIn, which sold to Microsoft for $26 billion last month. 

Having its own word processing tool gives Salesforce another boost in its competition with Microsoft's Office 365. Salesforce Ventures was an investor in Quip's $45 million funding round. 

The operation will still be run by Taylor and his team. 

11h

Jordan 'Jaws' Novet @jordannovet

wow, Salesforce buys @quip. I hope it's not going anywhere.http://venturebeat.com/2016/08/01/salesforce-buys-word-processing-app-quip-for-582-million/ … congrats @btaylor

 Follow

Marc Benioff 

✔@Benioff

@jordannovet @quip @btaylor Brett will work for me and run Quip directly with Kevin! We all love the future together.

2:06 AM - 2 Aug 2016

 
•  1010 Retweets
 
•  2727 likes

Uber's web of partners gets more complex with Didi investment

Uber's network has become so much bigger — and more complex — than the cars it navigates around the world.

The San Francisco-based company has connected itself to Didi Chuxing, the most popular ride-hailing service in China and its former rival. Uber will sell its operation in China to Didi, Bloomberg first reported, and the business will transform into a new entity valued at $35 billion. 

It's not just Uber buying into Didi. Uber will take a 20 percent stake in the combined company, while Didi will invest $1 billion into Uber. 

The ridehailing industry had already been a tangled web of interests thanks to a variety of investments from some of the biggest and most influential tech companies in the world, not to mention a few car companies and banks.

Now, with the combination of Uber and Didi, it's even more complex. Here's a breakdown of some of the partnerships and investments:

Softbank + Tencent + Alibaba + Apple = Didi 

Didi itself was created from the merger of two separate taxi apps, Kuaidi Dache and Didi Dache, in February 2015. Both were backed by Asia-based tech giants. 

Kuaidi Dache's investors included e-commerce giant Alibaba and Japanese telecom Softbank. Internet and media giant Tencent was an investor in Didi and is the largest shareholder in the combined company, according to Bloomberg. 

Apple added itself into the mix this year. In May, the world's most valuable company invested $1 billion in Didi. Apple CEO Tim Cook said the investment aligned with the company's interest in China. Apple is also committed to developing autonomous vehicles, or driverless cars.

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick quipped on the Apple-Didi deal at the time: 

 Follow

travis kalanick 

✔@travisk

girlfriend owns @apple shares which makes her a didi investor...#Smh #ridesharewars #domesticissues #thanksALotTim

12:10 PM - 13 May 2016

 
•  1,5231,523 Retweets
 
•  2,4102,410 likes

Didi also formed previous alliances with companies outside of Uber. In December 2015, Didi inked a strategic partnership with Ola in India, GrabTaxi in Southeast Asia and Lyft, Uber's largest competitor in the United States.

Didi also invested $100 million in Lyft during its $530 million funding round in 2015 as well as Ola and GrabTaxi. 

Didi + Alibaba + General Motors = Lyft 

Lyft's valuation of $5.5 billion may pale in comparison to Uber's $68 billion, yet the competitive service has teamed up with several other wealthy partners in its effort to take on the giant. 

Alibaba participated in Lyft's $250 million funding round for a Series D in 2014. Tencent and Didi both invested in Lyft in the following round in 2015.

In January 2016, General Motors invested $500 million, taking ownership of half of the latest funding round. 

The automaker said it was interested in Lyft's commitment to mobility for its initiative in autonomous vehicles. 

Baidu + Google + Microsoft + Saudi Arabia = Uber

Uber has raised a massive war chest to compete in what Kalanick and others have dubbed the "ride-sharing" or "ride-hailing" wars. That effort has made it the most valuable startup in the world, and its contributing investors include some of the world's most wealthy tech companies.

Chinese internet giant Baidu led a $1.2 billion investment round for Uber in 2015. At the time, Uber operated in 20 Chinese cities. Uber expanded to 60 over the course of the year. 

Google Ventures, the investment arm of Alphabet, poured $258 million into Uber back in 2013. Uber is its largest investment, Google Ventures CEO told Bloomberg in April. 

Microsoft also has invested in and sold its technology to Uber. The ride-hailing service acquired Microsoft's Bing mapping technology and around 100 engineers in June 2015.

Sex offenders not allowed on 'Pokémon Go,' says New York Governor

Governor Andrew Cuomo issued a directive Monday that bans sex offenders from playingPokémon Go and other similar games.

The order requires the New York Department of Corrections and Community Supervision to prevent about 3,000 sex offenders from "downloading, accessing, or otherwise engaging in any Internet-enabled gaming activities, including Pokémon Go," as written in a news release.

Cuomo also sent a letter to John Hanke of Niantic Inc., the CEO of the company behind Pokémon Go, that asked for help in banning sex offenders from using the game. 

Niantic will receive a list of identified sex offenders, information that is also shared with tech giants like Facebook, Apple and Microsoft, the letter reads. 

 Follow

Andrew Cuomo 

✔@NYGovCuomo

We directed @NYSDOCCS to restrict sex offenders on parole from playing Pokémon GO and similar games:http://on.ny.gov/2acmZWI 

7:46 PM - 1 Aug 2016

 
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•  2222 likes

 Follow

Andrew Cuomo 

✔@NYGovCuomo

We also issued a letter to Niantic, Inc. requesting cooperation in barring sex offenders from playing Pokémon GO:http://on.ny.gov/2acmZWI 

7:47 PM - 1 Aug 2016

 
•  1010 Retweets
 
•  1818 likes

The move comes shortly after New York Senators Jeffrey D. Klein and Diane Savino released a report on the matter.

Published Friday, the state-sponsored investigation found that popular areas for gameplay, such as pokéstops and gyms, were near the houses of registered sex offenders. Of 100 sex offenders' addresses, 73 of them were within a half-block of aPokémon Go-related activity. 

These offenders could also purchase lures, which can be used to attract pokémon and therefore players to one area.

Klein said in a statement following Cuomo's directive: 

"Pokémon GO provided sex offenders with a virtual road map to our children. We know that pedophiles always seek new ways to lure victims and this new technology that entertains our kids, could also bring them close to dangerous individuals instead of Pokémon. In fact, my Pokémon GO investigation uncovered a disturbing correlation between high level sex offenders' residences and in-game objectives. While this directive is a good first step, there's still more work to be done legislatively to protect children who use this technology and I will continue to monitor this situation. I applaud Governor Cuomo for taking action on my investigation within 48 hours to protect New York's children." 

Niantic did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Cuomo has previously issued regulations for sex offenders online. In 2008, he introduced the Electronic Security and Targeting of Online Predators Act, which required sex offenders to register email addresses and the names of other online accounts. That list is sent to 40 tech companies.

“Protecting New York’s children is priority number one and, as technology evolves, we must ensure these advances don't become new avenues for dangerous predators to prey on new victims," Cuomo said in a statement.